The seemingly simple notion of exchanging business documents among business partners can become quite a complicated task in practice. An example of this may be found in the telecommunications industry. As a result of deregulation, communication service providers (e.g., telecommunication carriers) interconnect with other carriers when it is not possible to complete an end-to-end call entirely on a single carrier's network in the most efficient way. For instance, a call may originate within carrier A's network and terminate on carrier B's network. Alternatively, in a more complicated scenario, a call may originate on carrier A's network, transmit through carrier B's network, and then terminate on carrier C's network. In the latter case, carrier A must interconnect with carrier B and carrier B must interconnect with carrier C. These routing options force carriers to establish and manage multiple interconnect agreements in order to optimize the use of their networks, reduce costs, and increase margins.
Such contracts, invoices and other business documents related to network services are primarily transferred among carriers via fax, email (as attachments) and postal mail. These documents are then interpreted and the key data extracted and entered manually into various systems to support upstream business processes. When operating in an intensely competitive and dynamic environment that is characterized by declining prices and shrinking margins, providers such as interconnect carriers devote valuable time and resources to managing the exchange of business documents that could otherwise be spent on optimizing network operations and focusing on other important business goals.